edit: I was remiss in not showing Opportunity:
Here's Opportunity!
We received sad news today from NASA that we all knew was coming, but is hard to hear for some reason. All over the Internet today, everyone has been mourning that Opportunity has joined Spirit in sleep on far away Mars. The little rovers took over our heart with each new message received from the Red Planet, teaching us about the universe away from Earth. Showing us that similarities crop up in the unlikeliest of places. And love transcends distance when we put our heart into the mix of life.
Sweet Dreams, Oppy and Spirit
We chose to reach into the distances of space in order to better understand what we have on our own planet. People may think that such an endeavor is a waste of money when we have so much to fix here, but fail to understand that we need to know about the great beyond in order to fix things here. It’s a Catch-22. Without a wide view, we can’t see all of the paths that are available to us. Worse than that, we may decide to ignore paths which we think are too expensive or too fantastical.
But then, we realize that we have set foot on the Moon, we have toured our solar system, and we have explored our sister planet, Mars. Because of Spirit and Opportunity, we have looked for signs that life can exist elsewhere and found the possibility that it indeed might.
Our future may be unknown, but every step we take is guided by the sciences that teach us the basic foundations of life. Take this snapshot that NASA offers, Six Things to Know About NASA’s Opportunity Mars Rover. And then go through their entire website to see just how much impact the little guys (and NASA) have had on our lives and our knowledge. We may argue about sentience in our robots, but still they manage to grasp our heart strings as they take their own journeys and invite us along into the wild red yonder.
Thank you so much Opportinity and Spirit. I hope that someday we can reach you and give you the proper welcome home that you deserve. We are shedding tears that you have gone to sleep, but also joyful at what you allowed us to see through your own eyes. You showed us so much, and we send you love in return. Maybe someday soon, you’ll even wake up after the dust settles and surprise us all!
Perhaps, once again, XKCD says it best about what Opportinity gave to Earthlings.
Best wishes to NASA for what you continue to give us all! And sympathy for all of our losses.
